Parallel Adventures
by Featherhawk
Summary: The Doctor decides to take a trip to New York City, where he wants to find an adventure with no death or relationships. However, everything doesn't go quite as planned... Please read, review, and leave some better title suggestions!
1. An Unexpected Sight

Immediately after the end of Voyage of the Damned…

The Doctor sighed as he closed the TARDIS doors and returned to his customary place by the console. 'Alone again,' he thought. 'What a surprise.' Sure, that old man had been pretty good in a fight, but the Doctor couldn't bear to have anyone else nearby right now. And he couldn't risk losing another he was responsible for. It was too dangerous for humans to travel with him. He'd just have to go alone. Anyway, humans had such short lives. Each one only left another scar.

Amid that torrent of thoughts, one rose to the top. 'Get rid of your pain.' And the only way to do that was to go somewhere. Somewhere nice, somewhere where he could get involved in another adventure, one that didn't involve anyone dying. Mind you, that kind of a place was pretty hard to find. Most places with adventures usually have danger and death standing by, waiting for the right person to come along and stumble into them. But the Doctor thought for a moment, and then finally realized the perfect place to visit. New York City, Earth.

He'd always loved New York City- didn't matter what time period, the lights and bustling atmosphere always attracted him. There were plenty of opportunities to do something exciting there; something that didn't involve guns or spaceships or relationships. Now that he had thought of it, the Doctor realized that it was just what he needed. Now only to set the coordinates…

It took him a moment to set them, as he realized that he needed to pick a time period. He wasn't sure at first, because all of them sounded so exciting. But finally he decided on 2008, mid 2008. There were no major crises going on- everything was as safe as New York City ever gets, but exciting at the same time. Smiling a little with joy over his newly-formed plan, the Doctor punched in the coordinates into the console. Earth, June 2008 A.D., Manhattan, enter. The TARDIS whirred to life as it began to disappear from the London countryside.

The TARDIS was about to land when suddenly, with a bang and a loud screech, it suddenly began to shake. "No, no, no!" the Doctor cried in frustration as the TARDIS began to veer off course. "Work, you stupid thing, work!" But the TARDIS didn't respond to his pleas, and instead continued to shake in a disturbing manner. The Doctor was beginning to think it would never end when suddenly, with an even bigger screech than before, it stopped. No warning, it just stopped. The lights turned off, and it seemed the TARDIS had lost all power. The Doctor was dumbfounded. What could have happened? With no alternative idea, he opened the TARDIS doors and stepped outside.

Well, at least was New York City. And in 2008, no less. Seemed like the TARDIS had just passed through a fluctuation in the Time Vortex. Nothing serious; the Doctor was sure that it would recharge itself in a day or two. And for now he time to explore.

The Doctor had landed on the corner of 51st Street and some other street that seemed to have no sign for it. There were shops and restaurants nearby, as well as a bank. The Doctor headed towards the bank. If he was going to spend a couple days in Manhattan, he'd need some money.

However, he was about halfway down the block to the bank when he noticed a strange sight. It was a poster on one of the billboards placed along the street. The sign said "Doctor Who returns July on the Sci-Fi Channel!" And it was his face, his own face adorning the billboard! Donna's face was next to his, which was odd in its own right, but the strangest thing was that it was his own face on the billboard! The Sci-Fi Channel? An Earth TV broadcasting network? Donna was on TV? More to the point, he was on TV? What was going on?!

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A/N- Please review- more will be up soon! I promise the next chapters will be longer. And if you have any title suggestions, please leave a review and tell me (I'm feeling uninspired, but I had to name it something) 


	2. An Unexpected Meeting

Amber was walking along 51st Street, distracting herself with the thought that the June weather was nicer than the Weather Channel had lead everyone to expect. If it had rained, she didn't know what she would have done. Her day was bad enough without having to walk 6 blocks to her apartment in the rain.

The day had started out better than normal- she had woken up at 6: 30 am, got dressed, packed her backpack, made herself lunch, and headed down the 3 flights of stairs from her family's apartment to catch the bus to school. She was looking forward to it, as her science class was starting her favorite unit today- astronomy. Finally they could get away from the other not so interesting science topics that the 9th grade curriculum demanded and start on something interesting. The whole bus ride to school, she was thinking about the day ahead and smiling. This was going to be great.

Throughout the day, nothing could dampen her sunny mood, not even the fact that no one talked to her, like usual. Science was her last class of the day, and nothing was going to ruin it for her. Even the fact that she sat and worked alone during all of her other classes just made her anticipate more the moment where she would walk into science class and start her favorite unit of the year, where it wouldn't matter that no one liked her.

History, Math, Spanish, Gym, Chorus, Lunch, English, Technology- throughout all of them she was counting down the minutes until science class started. And finally the moment had arrived. She stepped into her classroom and took a seat close to the white board. This was going to be awesome.

And it was. Although the entire class was just a basic overview of what the unit would cover, Amber still enjoyed every second of it. Once the 45 minute class was over, she left with regret and headed to her locker, then out to catch the bus home.

However, she didn't quite make it to the bus circle. She was stopped by a group of 4 girls from her science class, with malice plainly visible on their faces. Amber knew then, with a sickening certainty, that she wasn't making it home in one piece.

Their taunts rang her in her ears. "Geek. Nerd. You have no friends. I wonder why? Not even a rat would want to be friends with you."

Normally Amber was an expert at ignoring these taunts and walking to the bus in silence, only allowing herself to cry in the privacy of her bedroom. However, this time the girls stepped in front of her, blocking her way. Amber had expected this- the girls had been wearing their intent on their faces ever since they came over. But she was powerless to stop it.

The girls attacked her as hard as they could; they kicked her, punched her, and made her double over, falling down on her knees. Amber knew that no one would help her- there were no adults around, and none of the other kids cared what happened to the school geek. She was all alone.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the girls walked away, laughing at Amber's prone form on the pavement. For a moment Amber couldn't bear to move a single muscle in her body because of the pain, but she finally managed to get up and start the long walk home. The busses had already left, and there was no phone around to call her parents. It was only 6 blocks back to her apartment. 6 long, torturous blocks.

Amber took a moment while walking down the street to assess the injuries the girls had given her. Her right eye was swollen, giving her normally white skin a purplish appearance. Her straight, dark brown hair was tangled, and her electric green eyes were beginning to threaten to tear. Angrily, Amber pushed the tears away. She wouldn't give the girls the satisfaction of making her cry in public, even if they couldn't see her.

As for her jeans and green t-shirt, they were ripped and bloodied, seemingly beyond repair. Amber sighed. She was a mess.

Finally Amber arrived at 51st Street- only 1 more block to go. She put one foot in front of the other, keeping a constant rhythm despite the pain that throbbed more with each step. 'Come on Amber, only a block more to go,' she thought to herself. 'Only a block more.' And in an effort to distract herself, 'At least it's not raining.'

She had just passed the bank on 51st Street when she noticed a billboard up ahead advertising the return of her favorite TV show, Doctor Who. This brought a small smile to her face. She couldn't wait for it to start again. Only a month more, it seemed. This was great news. Almost enough to make her stop thinking about her pain and humiliation, but not quite. She was brought back to the reality of her present situation when, unaware of where she was going, she bumped into a man standing by the billboard. Pain shot through her body, and she cried out softly. Stepping away, she looked up away from the man. "Sorry, Sir." She was about to step away and continue home when she got a good look at his face. It couldn't be! She must be hallucinating! But then she saw how he had barely registered her presence, and was staring at the billboard with a mix of complete confusion and awe. The clothes were even the same. It was him.

Cautiously, she approached him and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to face her. Taking in her bloodied appearance and ripped clothes, his eyes grew wider. But they grew even wider still when she looked up at his shocked face and asked, "Doctor?"

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A/N- Okay, that chapter was a bit longer, like promised. I'll try to have a new one up as soon as I can! Please review- compliments, suggestions, and constructive criticism is appreciated. 


	3. An Unexpected Revelation

"Doctor?" Her words rang in his ears. She knew who he was. She knew his name. He was on a billboard. He was on TV. What was going on? And then, with a sickening certainty, he knew. Knew where he was. Knew what happened. And knew he was stuck here.

"Doctor?" she asked again. "Doctor, are you alright?" He recovered from his shock, and stared into her green eyes, one which was all mottled with a bruise. The rest of her body seemed to be covered with cuts too, and her clothes were ripped. "Yeah, I'm fine. Who are you? And why are you injured?"

"I'm Amber," she replied with a small smile that quickly turned into a grimace of pain. "And, well, uh… never mind. I'm fine."

The Doctor knew that wasn't the case, but he let it slide for now. "Okay, hi Amber. This may seem like a strange question, but it's June of 2008 A.D. on the planet Earth, right?"

Amber laughed. "Yeah, it is. And don't worry, it doesn't sound strange." Internally, she was doing anything but laughing. Her mind was still trying to cope. The Doctor existed. And he was standing in front of her. So where was the TARDIS? And what was he doing here?

She voiced those questions aloud, and he responded slowly. "Well, the TARDIS is over there on the corner," he gestured to the street intersection in front of them, "And I'm not really sure what I'm doing here. Or where here is. I was trying to get to Manhattan in June of 2008, and it seems like I succeeded. Except that I think it's the wrong Manhattan."

Amber caught on rather quickly. "So you accidentally ended up in a parallel universe? My universe?"

The Doctor sighed. "Yeah. And now the TARDIS seems to have broken down. So I'm stuck here, in a universe where my life has been made into a freaking TV show!" He paused for a moment. "Or is it Donna's life that's on TV?"

Amber grinned again. "No, it's your life. Sorry."

"So, what point of my life is on TV right now?"

"Well, Britain just finished the 4th season, and America's about to start the 4th season, so in America you just left from the spaceship that looked like the Titanic."

"Strange, that's just where I was!"

"Oh. But in Britain you've…"

"No, don't tell me! That could screw up the timelines so severely that your universe and mine could be swallowed by the Void."

"Oh, sorry. I won't."

The Doctor grinned. Amber seemed like a nice kid. However, there was the slight issue of the cuts and bruises all over her body. He tried gently to ask her about them again.

"So, uh… You sure you're okay? I mean, that bruise around your eye looks pretty nasty."

Amber immediately closed up, and her eyes took on a defensive look. "What happens to me is not your business. Nor do I need your help. Understood?"

"Sorry." However, the Doctor was anything but sorry. Amber was in trouble, and he needed to find a way to help her. For a moment he cursed himself for getting involved in yet another relationship, one which would probably end badly, but he couldn't make himself walk away. She needed help. And so did he.

"Should you be getting home? I mean, won't your parents be worried?"

Amber glared at him, still a little ticked off about his earlier questions. "I'm not a little kid. My parents won't worry if I'm out a little later than normal. They know I can take care of myself."

"Right."

There arose an uncomfortable silence, which neither felt inclined to penetrate. Amber was torn by her joy to finally meet the Doctor, her annoyance at his questions about her injuries, and her concern about what would happen to him without a functioning TARDIS. The Doctor was concerned that Amber had a big problem revolving around the bruises that she wouldn't tell him about, and that he was stuck here with no way to go back to his universe in the foreseeable future, perhaps forever. And neither knew what to do.

The Doctor finally broke the silence. "Well, you don't need to tell me why you have those bruises, but I know enough about medicine to know that you need some antiseptic before those become infected. Come on." He strode off towards the bank, with Amber trailing behind him.

"Um, you know that the CVS is that way, right?"

"I didn't, but thanks. Anyway, I need money first. Unless you have some?"

"No."

"Then come on!"

The Doctor entered the bank through the revolving doors, with Amber right behind him. Unfortunately, there was a line for the machine, so the Doctor and Amber joined it. It looked to be a long wait, so the Doctor decided to start a conversation.

"So, tell me about yourself, Amber. Come on, you know all about me from that TV show, but I don't know anything about you!"

Amber hesitated for a moment before replying. "Well, I'm in 9th grade. I live with my mom and dad in an apartment about a block away from here, and I go to the local public high school. My favorite subject is science, especially astronomy, but I like most academic subjects. I love to read and write, and I get good grades. Um… music is good. Even though I like school, I hate homework, and often leave it until the last minute. I don't do any kind of athletics, and I don't want to. I play the drums for fun. That's about it, really."

The Doctor was in a happier mood now, so he decided to tease and push her a little more. "Come on, those are facts like the ones you find in a textbook! Who are your friends? What do you do when no one's watching? What is your dream?"

Amber's eyes immediately filled with tears, and she turned away from him to hide them. But he was too perceptive. Reaching an arm across cautiously to touch her shoulder, he forced her to turn around to face him. "What's wrong?"

Amber still refused to look at him. "Nothing," she replied. "It's none of your business. I'm fine."

The Doctor decided right then that helping this girl was more important than getting back home. He gently put his hand under her chin and raised her head, forcing her to look at him. "Bottling up problems won't solve them," he said gently. "I would know."

Amber sighed. "Just get the money. I'll tell you once we get outside. But it's nothing, really. Nothing that bad."

'Of course it's bad, if you're crying about it," the Doctor replied. "But you can tell me outside if you want to."

The Doctor stood in line for 20 more minutes, with Amber waiting beside him, staring intently at the floor as she tried to hide the tears that threatened to rain down her face. Finally, they got up to the machine. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor pretended to be scanning his card while he subtly used the screwdriver to tell the machine to give him $40. Amber stared at him as he stepped away from the machine, all traces of tears gone.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"You just stole money from that machine."

"What else do you suggest? Ask for it?"

Amber grinned for a moment, but then her face fell into its normal impassive state again. "I guess not. Let's go."

They stepped outside, and began to walk down the street towards the CVS. Amber didn't speak for the longest time, and the Doctor could tell she was trying to figure out how to answer his earlier questions. He decided not to pressure her. However, she finally spoke.

"I don't really have any good friends. There are a couple people I can talk to occasionally, but most of the school thinks I'm a geek, and they tease or ignore me. Some of them take teasing father than others." She gestured to her eye. "When no one's watching, I usually read. Or listen to music." She paused for a moment. "Or cry. My dream is to go to a place where everyone isn't so shallow and mean, a place where people will appreciate my intelligence, a place where I can make my mark on the world." She paused, and then closed her mouth. It was clear she was finished speaking.

Amber didn't know why she had told the Doctor all of that. She hadn't said that aloud before, not even to her parents. But there was something about the Doctor that made her feel safe, even though she'd only known him personally for about ½ hour. It seemed like he would understand.

The Doctor did understand, all too well. But he didn't know what to say. He'd already been more gentle and kind with her than he'd been with anyone in a long time, and emotions weren't his strong suit. So he chose to stay silent, hoping that Amber would still know that he understood.

They walked in silence the rest of the way to CVS, each lost in thought. Finally, when they got to the CVS, the Doctor spoke again. "Come on, let's get some medicine for those bruises and cuts. Then we can decide what to do next."

They grabbed some Neosporin and band aids off the shelf, and then stood in a thankfully short line. Once they had their purchases, they walked out of the store and sat down on a nearby bench on the side of the street. There, Amber opened the band aids package and the Neosporin, proceeding to use then in each place where she had a serious cut. When she was done, almost a quarter of each package was gone.

Amber looked at the Doctor and grinned. With all of the band aids plastered over her legs and arms, she looked like ½ mummy or something. The only place she'd avoided using medicine on was her eye, which would have to heal on its own. She momentarily touched it, and yelped with pain. "Better not do that again," she grimaced.

The Doctor smiled a small smile, glad to see that Amber was going to be alright. "So what do we do now?" he asked.

"Easy," Amber replied. "I call my parents and tell them that I'm going to be home late because I'm going to a friend's house. They'll be so happy to hear that I'm actually socializing with my peers that they won't ask any questions. Then I'll be free to spend the rest of the evening helping you get your TARDIS working again."

The Doctor hesitated for a moment before answering. "Good plan, except for 2 things. One, you're injured, and you shouldn't run around helping me when you should be resting."

Amber groaned. "Now you sound like the school nurse. I'll be fine. It's just a couple bruises." She paused for a moment. "And what's two?"

The Doctor sighed. "There's no way to repair the TARDIS, none at all. I've thought about it, and there's only one conclusion I can reach. I'm stuck here."

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A/N- Okay, that chapter was even longer! Sorry to leave you guys with a cliff hanger, but I'll post more when I can. Please review with compliments, ideas, or constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: Okay, just in case you didn't realize, I don't own Doctor Who. Nor do I own Manhattan. Or CVS. Even though I want to. Because then I'd be rich, and I could stop the people who write crappy episodes for Doctor Who from doing so…


	4. An Unexpected Setback

"Stuck here, stuck here, stuck here." The words rang in his ears. Even though he had known it almost since he'd gotten here, saying it aloud made reality sink in. What was he going to do?

First off, he was doomed to spend the rest of his days on Earth. There was no technology on the planet that he could use to build a spaceship or repair his TARDIS, at least not without creating a lot of chaos and seriously screwing up this universe's timeline. And he couldn't really stay here either, because he looked just like the actor who portrayed him in this universe, and there couldn't be 2 people who looked exactly alike wandering around on the same planet. Someone would be bound to notice and, again, it would screw up the timeline. Plastic surgery was always an option, but only as a last resort. The Doctor didn't think he was vain, but nevertheless he didn't want someone messing up his face. Though he could force himself to regenerate, but then the next person who came along to play him on the show would look just like him, and it'd only postpone the problem. Actually, what would happen to the show? How could it continue when he was now in the universe it was being produced in? Had his simply arriving here already doomed this universe? There were too many possibilities and outcomes to contemplate, but the Doctor knew one thing for certain. None of them were good.

He was jolted back to reality by Amber's hand tapping him on the shoulder. "Doctor, are you okay?" she asked.

"Uh, what? Oh yeah, I'm fine. It's just that…" He trailed off.

"What?"

"I think by accidentally landing here I may have already doomed your universe. And I don't think there's any way to reverse it. But I have to try. So yeah, I should get going and try to save this universe, and you should go home."

"What?!" Her shock was etched on her face. "No way am I going home! I'm gonna help you solve this, no matter how long it takes."

"That's a bad idea."

"Why?"

He could think of many reasons why, but they were all selfish and probably wouldn't convince her. So the Doctor stayed silent.

"Exactly. So, the first thing we need to do is to find you a place to stay. You can't stay in the TARDIS- you said that it's broken down, so I'm guessing that means no power or anything. That won't work. So…" She thought for a minute, and then her face lit up. "I know! You can stay at my house! We have a couch and…"

"No!" The Doctor's voice was forceful and loud. Seeing her surprised look, he calmed down. "Amber, that won't work. What will your parents say?"

Amber grimaced. "Right. So, a hotel?"

"Yeah. But I'll need more money, so back to the bank again!" The Doctor grinned like a 5-year-old.

Groaning, Amber replied, "Did you ever think of getting a credit card and perhaps a legitimate job? Then you wouldn't have to use your sonic screwdriver to steal money all the time."

"It's not stealing," the Doctor replied indignantly. "It's just borrowing without permission, and, well, with no intention of returning." His face fell momentarily as he realized that Amber had won the argument, but then his grin returned. "Or you could just consider it payment for all the times I've saved your little planet and all you stupid apes on it from extinction."

"Hold on, we're not stupid apes! Ever heard of Einstein? Or Schrodinger? But anyway, that wasn't this planet that you saved- it was our parallel version. So I come back to my original point. Get a job and a credit card."

"No. My job is to save all you people, and that job is far more important than any one you can think of. So I think I deserve a little free money and no bills."

"Ugh. Whatever."

Amber and the Doctor were both grinning as they stood up and began to walk back to the bank. Amber was grinning because she hadn't been able to converse as freely with someone in a long time as she just had with the Doctor. Although she knew he would eventually have to go back to his universe if he could, a little selfish voice in her ear whispered that perhaps she could convince him to let her come too. Or maybe he'd be stuck here… But no, that was too mean. She couldn't wish him to suffer like that for her own gain. She'd help him get back to his universe, no matter what the cost.

The Doctor was grinning because he'd just had more fun than he had in a long time. Maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad.

The kept pace with each other down the block, and reentered the bank about 3 minutes later. Thankfully there was no line now, so the Doctor withdrew 300 dollars and Amber used the payphone next to the ATM to call her mom and tell her she'd be home soon from her "friend's house", and she was sorry for not calling earlier. Then they left. As they were walking back down the block, the Doctor asked, "So, what hotel should I stay at?"

"There's one across the street from my apartment. It's not that expensive, but it's still nice. And then you won't risk getting lost."

"I'm not going to… Oh, whatever. Sounds good. How far away is your apartment?"

"About a block now. Come on!" She took off at an even faster pace, and the Doctor hurried to keep up, long coat billowing behind him.

They reached the hotel in a matter of minutes, and Amber gestured to the door. "Go on, you can check into a hotel yourself, can't you?"

"Obviously. With as many years spent exploring time and space as I have, you manage to pick up that skill."

"Good. Since tomorrow's a Saturday, I'll meet you down here at 8 am, okay?"

"Fine."

"Bye!"

"Bye!"

As Amber walked away from the hotel, across the street, and up the stairs to her apartment, she thought about her good luck. Maybe her life would get better now. She couldn't stop grinning.

She opened the door to her apartment, number 302, and walked inside. Her mom was doing dishes in the kitchen, and heard the door open. "Oh Amber, honey, you're back! How was your time at your friend's house? Your dad's gonna be working late tonight, so it's just you and me. I'm making hotdogs for dinner, and…" Her mom stopped speaking as Amber entered the kitchen, and she saw the bruise on her face and cuts all over her body. "Honey, oh my God, what happened?"

Amber groaned internally. With all the excitement, she'd completely forgotten about her injuries. She reached up gingerly to touch her swollen eye, and it throbbed. Yeah, she was a mess. And her mom would want answers.

"It's nothing, Mom. I just fell down as I was walking to my friend's house, and I got band aids once I got there. Sorry, I should have warned you, but I forgot because it stopped hurting. Really, it's nothing."

Amber's mom clearly didn't believe her. "You don't get a black eye from falling down. Tell me the truth. What happened?"

Amber sighed. "Some girls beat me up after school. That's all. Happy?"

"And why didn't you call me to tell me?! Why didn't you come straight home?! Wasn't your friend there to help?"

"Um… My friend was still at her locker. And it didn't hurt that bad, and I really wanted to go over to her house. I got band aids, see? It's not that bad."

"Amber, you know that you should come home if you get injured! What did your friend's parents think when they saw you?" Her eyes narrowed. "And who is this friend anyway? I've never heard of her. You never even told me her name."

"She's… um, her name's Suzie. And I've mentioned her before! She's in my, uh… uh… my History class!"

"Amber, what aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing, Mom."

"Okay." Her mom looked skeptical. "But you're staying home tomorrow, understand?"

"Yes… I mean no! Mom, I'm going over to Suzie's house again tomorrow. We arranged. I have to be there at 8."

"Well, call her and cancel."

"I can't!"

"Why not? If she's a friend, she'll understand. And what are you doing that you can't cancel, anyway?"

"Mom! Ugh, never mind. I'll cancel." Amber walked dejectedly back to her book and sat down on her bed. Helping the Doctor was going to be harder than she thought.

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A/N- Don't ask where this story is going, because I really have no idea myself. The plot just sort of runs along on its own, and I have to type as fast as I can to keep up with it. Please review with praise/ ideas/ constructive criticism! I'll try to post a new chapter as soon as I can, but no guarantees as to when. School and other junk keeps me pretty busy. 


	5. An Unexpected Devastation

After setting her alarm for 7 am, Amber closed her eyes and fell soundly asleep. It was only 4 in the afternoon, and normally she would have been awake for at least 6 more hours. However, the fact that she had been beat up tired her out too much to stay up. As she slept, she dreamed of many things.

On the other hand, the Doctor didn't sleep at all. After checking in to the hotel, he took his room key and went up 2 flights of stairs to his one person residence, which the brochures at the front desk assured him was quite comfortable. He inserted the key in its slot, opened the door, and turned on the lights. The room looked nice, with a one person bed, a night table, a chair, a dresser, and a TV. He threw down his coat over the back of the chair, took off his shoes, lay down on the bed, and closed his eyes. Although he sought sleep, even though it was still early by Earth standards, it continued to evade him. He never slept much anyway, but with all of the events of the past day, sleep was an even more elusive creature than usual. After trying for about 2 hours with no success, though he tried a variety of methods used by different cultures to achieve sleep, he gave up and, grabbing the remote, sat on the bed and turned on the TV. There, he was confronted by a sight that still shocked him, even though he knew he might run into it sooner or later. It was him, on TV, in this show they called Doctor Who. On the Sci-Fi channel. It was almost too much to handle, and he felt an absurd urge to laugh. But gradually that laughter gave way to reluctant interest as he watched the show.

He was there, in his current regeneration, standing next to Rose. Rose. The name caught in his throat. He banished the thought of her, and then refocused his attention on the TV. They were… where were they? He didn't recognize the location for a moment, but then it came to him with a jolt. They were in Torchwood.

Torchwood on Canary Wharf. The last place he wanted to revisit in any form, least of all in such detail on a TV. Rose was standing next to him, looking into his eyes, telling him that she'd never leave him. He'd wanted to believe her then, wanted to believe her and walk away from that terrible battle. But he didn't. And then she was gone.

Although the pain of watching one of his worst memories play out before him was extreme, he couldn't force his hand to move the inch it needed to in order to reach the remote and turn off the TV. Instead he sat there, transfixed, seeming to the outside world like a stone, but raging with turmoil inside. As she fell into the void, as she leaned her head against the wall and cried with despair, as she was forced to walk away, he saw her pain, and remembered his own. It was almost too much to bear, but not quite too much. Because he kept watching.

As she walked onto the beach after hearing his voice in her head, he remembered that moment in perfect clarity. It played out on the TV just as it played out inside his mind, unbroken, with no gaps in memory. For a moment he thought he could bear it, he thought he could handle watching her converse with him that one last time. But he couldn't.

As she professed her love for him, in those three simple words, he couldn't bear to watch, to hear any more. He grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. Then he lay down on his back. A single tear trickled down his cheek.

The rest of the night passed slowly for the Doctor, as he lay on the bed and tried once again to sleep. But he couldn't. So eventually he gave up, and just thought.

He thought about Rose, and wondered how she was doing. He supposed he would never know. Maybe she had a boyfriend or a husband by now. Maybe not. Either way he didn't care, just as long as she was happy.

He thought about Martha, and Donna, and Sarah Jane, and Susan, and pretty much everybody else he had ever known. He wondered how Martha was doing, whether she had become a doctor yet, and whether she had found anybody. He hoped she had. He thought about Donna, and how she had appeared on the billboard next to him. Maybe that meant he was destined to meet he again. He hoped so. Her rare, sarcastic sense of humor, but at the same time her intense compassion, made her someone he'd like to know more about. Hopefully she'd gotten over Lance, and found somebody who was actually worthy of her. Hopefully. He thought about Sarah Jane, and hoped he would see her again, though he doubted it. He thought about Susan, his granddaughter, and all of the other Time Lords. Whether he'd liked them or not, they were his people. And now they were gone.

And finally, his mind strayed to the girl he'd only met today. Amber. She seemed so mature for a 9th grader, but at the same time so innocent and so vulnerable. He hoped he could help her, but at the same time hoped she would stay away from him. That would be better for her.

Through this dance of his mind, where he lingered over every step of the journey, one thought was interwoven in all of his daydreams. Fix the TARDIS, go back to his universe. He couldn't stay here. He didn't want to stay here. But if he had to, there was only one option. He didn't like it, but there was no other way. This universe had to survive, and he'd make sure it would.

Tick tock, tick tock. The clock counted down the hours until the morning, hours where the Doctor was thinking and Amber was fast asleep. And finally it was 7 am.

Amber's alarm, which was set to radio, blared on. Groaning, she leaned over to turn it off, and then stopped. The lyrics of the song it was playing rang through her head.

Our lives are made

In these small hours

These little wonders

These twists and turns of fate

Time falls away,

But these small hours,

These small hours still remain

Amber didn't know what song it was, or who was singing it, but she knew how true the lyrics were. And as she listened to the music, it brought her a sense of calm. Eventually the song ended, and she turned off her radio. But she remembered the words.

Amber grinned as she realized what she had dreamed, and began to put on her jeans and t-shirt. Now she had a way to get out of the house without getting her mom mad. But first she had to act really upset.

She ran into her parent's room, grimacing a little from yesterday's bruises, and turned on the lights. "Mom, mom," she shouted.

Her mom groaned. "Ugh," she sighed. "What is it?" Amber's dad wasn't there, apparently having left early for work. Amber was glad- her dad was harder to fool than her mom, so this made her plan easier.

"I just realized that I have a huge History report due Monday, and I haven't started. So can I please go to the library? Please, please, please!!!!!! I really need to do this, or else I'll fail!!!!!"

Her mom groaned, not fully awake yet. "How far away is the library you need to go to?"

"Only a couple of blocks. I'll be there all day, but I promise to be home by dark. Please!"

"Oh, alright. You sure you're not injured from yesterday's…" she paused, unsure of what to say. "Um, well, yesterday's events?"

"Yeah mom, I'm fine, promise. And I'll come home if I feel bad. Please!"

"Okay, just be home by dark."

"Thank you so much, mom!"

As Amber ran out of her mom's room, she allowed a small smile to pass her lips. For her mom, in her half awake state, had forgotten one thing. The library didn't open until noon.

When Amber reached her front door, she pulled on her sandals, then stepped out of her apartment and ran down the stairs to the street. She was running so fast that she almost collided with several people on her way down, all of which glared at her. But Amber was too happy to notice.

She stepped out onto the street, then looked for the Doctor. He wasn't there. Glancing at her watch, she realized that it was only 7:10 am. He wouldn't be down for another 50 minutes. But Amber was too excited to wait. So she went across to the hotel, in the front door, and up to the reception desk.

"Can I help you?" the young man asked. He was obviously still half asleep, with a cup of coffee in one hand.

"Yes. I need to find out someone's room number. Can you help me with that?"

"Well, ma'am, we're not technically supposed to give out our guest's information."

Amber hadn't expected this. "Why not?" Then she improvised. "I need to find out my uncle's room number, that's all. He's a rich and powerful man, you know. He won't be happy when he hears about the bad service this hotel gives its esteemed guests."

The man quivered. "Well, ma'am, I'm not supposed to…"

"I won't tell. Your disobedience is better for you that my uncle's wrath, believe me."

The poor man was gullible, and terrified. "Okay, ma'am, I… I guess I can tell you the room number. What's his name?"

Amber was stumped. What would the Doctor have registered under? He couldn't exactly expect them to believe that his name was the Doctor. "Um… um… his name is… John Smith! His name is John Smith!" Finally she had remembered his alias.

"One moment, ma'am." The man looked up the name on the nearby computer. "Room 309."

"Thank you."

Amber ascended the stairs to the 3rd floor, went down the hall, and knocked on the door to room 309. Expecting him to be asleep, she was surprised when she heard his voice from inside. "Who is it?"

"Amber. Sorry for coming early. But since you're awake, I guess I didn't disturb you."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine. I'll get the door- one sec."

He opened the door, and she saw that he looked completely awake, like he hadn't slept at all. His brown suit wasn't wrinkled at all, and his brown eyes were alert. She didn't know if Time Lords needed sleep, but she decided that they didn't. It would explain a lot.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Go where?"

"To find out what's wrong with the TARDIS, of course."

"Oh. And how do you propose we do that?""Um… we… Don't you have a plan?"

"No. And you obviously don't either."

"So let's go look inside the TARDIS. Maybe we'll get some ideas. You know, you can pull one of your genius engineering schemes that no one can follow except you, and we'll have it working in no time."

"You've been watching too much TV. It's not that easy."

"Well, shouldn't we at least try?"

"I guess." The Doctor sighed. Teenagers were a force of nature. Didn't matter the species, they were all the same. He recalled being like that when he was younger. Younger, and more naïve.

The Doctor went back into his room for a minute to pull on his long, brown trench coat and shoes. Then they exited the Doctor's hotel room, went down the stairs, and emerged onto the street in front of the hotel. "Where's the TARDIS?" Amber asked.

"About 2 blocks this way. Come on!" The Doctor seemed to regain some of his normal spirit as he hurried ahead. Amber had to hurry to catch up.

They went down the street for 2 blocks until they reached the corner where the TARDIS had landed. Amber saw it, and immediately gasped. Sure, she knew exactly what it looked like, and she knew that it would be here. But it still shocked her. Having wanted to see it for so long, the fact that she finally had seemed unreal.

The Doctor appeared not to notice her shock, and reached into his coat pocket to pull out the TARDIS key. He inserted it into the lock, and turned it. The door creaked open.

Something had happened. The Doctor didn't know what, but something was wrong. He could see it the second he opened the TARDIS doors. Not only was the inside dark, but it was completely destroyed. While he'd been gone, everything had fallen apart. Wires were hanging in midair, pillars were leaning, everything. The Doctor didn't know what was wrong. And for the first time since he could remember, he was truly scared.

Amber pushed ahead of the Doctor, eager to see what he was gaping at. But, once she had stepped into the TARDIS, she barely had time to register the destruction before one of the leaning pillars came tumbling down. It was headed straight for her. Amber wanted to move, to scream, anything. But she was frozen in place, paralyzed by fear.

Bang! The Doctor's arm snaked around her waist and pulled her back with force, just as the pillar crashed down upon the console room floor. Amber and the Doctor went flying, and landed next to each other on the pavement about 3 feet away. The Doctor was the first to recover, and slammed the TARDIS doors shut just as the sounds of more things falling apart reverberated in his ears.

He walked back to Amber, helped her up, and then leaned against a signpost. His shoulders slumped in defeat. There seemed to be no way out. Sure, he'd try to find one, but he doubted he'd be successful. It was time to plan for his last resort.

* * *

A/N- Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter- I've been really busy. I hope you liked it, and I'll try to post more as soon as I can! Please review with praise and/ or constructive criticism. I especially need plot ideas, as I'm beginning to run out. 

The song lyrics quoted are from Little Wonders by Rob Thomas. It's not played that often on the radio (though I did hear it once), but you can find it on iTunes or Youtube. It's a really good song, and you won't regret listening to it.


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